Tori Kelly Proves Why You Should Never Let Anyone Else Determine Your Destiny

Inside the “Sing” star’s incredible Hollywood journey

We just saw “Sing” and we literally cried (tears of joy) because the movie has so many amazing messages, like the importance believing in yourself and never letting anyone else tell you that you’re not good enough.

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Our favorite character in the movie was Meena the elephant, voiced by Tori Kelly. Meena has an incredible voice, but is too scared to sing onstage. “Don’t let fear stop you from doing the thing you love,” Buster tells her.

Fortunately for us, Tori never let fear stop her from singing superstardom. Seven years ago, she auditioned for “American Idol.” And 25 million people watched Simon Cowell call her voice “annoying.”

Tori failed to make it into the Top 24, but instead of giving up, she worked harder than ever to make her dreams a reality. Tori wrote, produced, and recorded her debut EP, “Handmade Songs By Tori Kelly,” in her bedroom!

The EP was a huge success, landing in the top 10 on the iTunes pop chart! Around the same time, she started uploading covers to YouTube, which got the attention of Scooter Braun, who became her manager:

Last year, Tori released her debut album, “Unbreakable Smile,” and was nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammys! In addition to being nominated, Tori’s performance with James Bay was a highlight of the annual awards show:

Tori & Meena prove that you should never let anything (like fear) or anyone (like Simon Cowell) stop you from pursuing your passions and following your dreams.

“That seems to be a theme in my life,” she says. “Getting rejected, finding something good out of it, and creating a path of my own.”

“It gave me this fire to start taking things into my hands and just do it and not let fear stop you from doing what you love.”

YAS! We love you, Tori!!